Sensor system

ABSTRACT

A sensor system senses one or more characteristics of vehicles in a vehicle system with sensors disposed onboard the vehicles and communicate data representative of the one or more characteristics from the sensors to one or more of a controller or a control system of the vehicle system. The data communicated from the sensors onboard the same vehicle can be synchronously communicated with respect to the sensors onboard the same vehicle and asynchronously communicated with respect to the sensors disposed onboard one or more other vehicles in the vehicle system. The systems and methods can direct components disposed onboard a vehicle system to change operations, monitor data output by sensors operatively connected with the components, and determine which of the sensors are operatively connected with which of the components based on the operations of the components that are changed and the data that is output by the sensors.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/269,163, filed 18 Dec. 2015, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. This application also is related toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/421,245 (filed 12-Feb.-2015), Ser.No. 14/866,320 (filed 25-Sep.-2015), and Ser. No. 14/869,038 (filed29-Sep.-2015), the entire disclosures of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates to systems of sensors, andcommunication of information sensed by the sensors to one or morelocations.

BACKGROUND

Various systems can include sensors for monitoring characteristics ofthe systems and/or surroundings of the systems. For example, vehiclesystems, stationary power systems, etc., can include several sensorsmonitoring the same or different characteristics. These sensors canmonitor vibrations, temperatures, states, or the like, of the systems inorder to track operation of the systems, identify unsafe conditions,determine when maintenance or repair of the systems are needed, or toachieve other objectives.

Some sensors may wirelessly communicate the characteristics monitored bythe sensors. With several sensors in a system being monitored, there isan increased risk of interference between the wireless signals beingcommunicated by the sensors. For example, the radio frequency (RF)signals of some sensors may interfere with the RF signals of othersensors. This interference can prevent some signals from being receivedby a controller or other device that receives the sensed characteristicsof the system, can distort the data included in some signals, or thelike.

The interference can prevent the controller or other device fromaccurately monitoring the characteristics being sensed by the sensors.As a result, the controller or other device may be unable to trackoperation of the system, identify unsafe conditions, determine whenmaintenance or repair of the system is needed, or achieve otherobjectives using at least some of the characteristics being monitored bythe sensors.

Additionally, a controller or other device that is tracking thecharacteristics monitored by several sensors may need to be providedwith identities and/or locations of the various sensors. For example, acontroller onboard a vehicle may need to be provided with locations ofwhere different sensors are located in order to determine where thecharacteristics are being monitored by the sensors. Some systems requirethat the locations and/or identities of the sensors be manually inputinto the controller or other device that receives the sensor data. Thiscan add significant time and cost to establishing the system foroperation. Other systems may require the sensors to communicate theidentities of the sensors, which adds to the complexity and cost of thesensors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, a method includes sensing one or more characteristicsof vehicles in a vehicle system with sensors disposed onboard thevehicles and communicating data representative of the one or morecharacteristics from the sensors to one or more of a controller or acontrol system of the vehicle system. The data communicated from thesensors onboard the same vehicle can be synchronously communicated withrespect to the sensors onboard the same vehicle and asynchronouslycommunicated with respect to the sensors disposed onboard one or moreother vehicles in the vehicle system.

In one embodiment, a system includes sensors configured to be disposedonboard vehicles in a vehicle system and to sense one or morecharacteristics of the vehicles and one or more of a controller or acontrol system configured to receive data representative of the one ormore characteristics from the sensors. The data communicated from thesensors onboard the same vehicle is synchronously communicated withrespect to the sensors onboard the same vehicle and asynchronouslycommunicated with respect to the sensors disposed onboard one or moreother vehicles in the vehicle system.

In one embodiment, a method directing components disposed onboard avehicle system to change operations, monitoring data output by sensorsoperatively connected with the components, and determining which of thesensors are operatively connected with which of the components based onthe operations of the components that are changed and the data that isoutput by the sensors.

In one embodiment, a system includes a control system configured todirect components disposed onboard a vehicle system to changeoperations, the control system also configured to monitor data output bysensors operatively connected with the components. The control system isconfigured to determine which of the sensors are operatively connectedwith which of the components based on the operations of the componentsthat are changed and the data that is output by the sensors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The inventive subject matter described herein will be better understoodfrom reading the following description of non-limiting embodiments, withreference to the attached drawings, wherein below:

FIG. 1 illustrates a sensor system of a vehicle system according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a sensor monitoring characteristics ofthe vehicle system shown in FIG. 1 and communicating data to acontroller;

FIG. 3 illustrates one vehicle of the vehicle system shown in FIG. 1according to one example;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of one embodiment of a method forestablishing communication intervals for sensors in a sensing system;and

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for pairingsensors with components of a powered system, such as a vehicle system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will be made below in detail to example embodiments of theinventive subject matter, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numeralsused throughout the drawings refer to the same or like parts. Althoughembodiments of the inventive subject matter are described with respectto vehicle systems such as trains, locomotives, and other rail vehicles,embodiments of the inventive subject matter are also applicable for usewith vehicles generally, such as off-highway vehicles (e.g., vehiclesthat are not designed or permitted to travel on public roadways),agricultural vehicles, and/or transportation vehicles, each of which mayinclude a vehicle consist. A vehicle system may be formed from two ormore vehicles that communicate with each other to coordinate travel ofthe vehicle system, but that are not mechanically linked with eachother. For example, a vehicle system may include two or more vehiclesthat wirelessly communicate with each other so that the differentvehicles may change the respective speeds, tractive efforts, brakingefforts, and the like, to cause the separate vehicles to travel togetheras a convoy or other group along the same route. Optionally, one or moreembodiments of the systems and methods described herein may be used withother non-vehicular systems, such as stationary powered systems.

FIG. 1 illustrates a sensor system 100 of a vehicle system 102 accordingto one embodiment. The vehicle system 102 includes a group of vehicles104, 106, 108 that travel together along a route 110. One or more of thevehicles can represent propulsion-generating vehicles, such aslocomotives, automobiles, marine vessels, or the like. Optionally, oneor more of the vehicles can represent non-propulsion-generatingvehicles, such as rail cars, trailers, barges, or the like. The routecan represent a road, track, waterway, etc. The number and arrangementof the vehicles are provided as one example that is not limiting on allembodiments described herein. The vehicles may be mechanically connectedwith each other by one or more couplers 112. Alternatively, the vehiclesmay not be mechanically connected with each other, but may communicatewith each other to coordinate movement of the vehicles so that thevehicles travel together along the route as the vehicle system.

The sensor system includes several sensors 114. The sensors may bedisposed onboard several vehicles, such that the sensors are distributedamong the vehicles in the vehicle system, or may be disposed onboard asingle vehicle. The sensors can represent a variety of devices thatmonitor characteristics of the vehicle system and/or the environmentaround the vehicle system. For example, the sensors may includetemperature sensors (e.g., sensors that output data representative oftemperatures of the vehicles and/or environment, such as hot boxdetectors, infrared cameras, etc.), vibration sensors (e.g., sensorsthat output data representative of movement in one or more directions,such as accelerometers), pressure sensors (e.g., sensors that outputdata representative of fluid pressure, such as air pressure in tires ofthe vehicles, pressures of oil or other lubricants in gear boxes and/orengines, etc.), fluid sensors (e.g., sensors that output datarepresentative of an oil or other fluid level, or how much oil or otherlubricant is in gear boxes, engines, etc.), location sensors (e.g.,sensors that output data representative of geographic or otherlocations, such as a global positioning system receiver), speed sensors(e.g., sensors that output data representative of how rapidly a vehicleis moving, how rapidly a wheel and/or axle is rotating, etc.), acousticsensors (e.g., sensors that output data representative of sounds, suchas microphones), optic sensors (e.g., sensors that output datarepresentative of images and/or videos, such as cameras, infrareddetectors), electromagnetic sensors (e.g., sensors that obtain and/oroutput data using electromagnetic waves, such as radio frequencyidentification interrogators or tags), etc.

The sensors and/or system can include transceiving circuitry, such asantennas, wires, modems, routers, network hubs, or the like, thatcommunicate data between and/or among the sensors and one or morecontrollers 116 of the sensor system. The controllers of the sensorsystem can be disposed on one or more of the vehicles in the vehiclesystem, but may not be disposed onboard all vehicles in the vehiclesystem. Alternatively, a controller may be disposed onboard all vehiclesin the vehicle system. The controllers receive data that is output fromthe sensors. The sensors may wirelessly communicate the data to thecontrollers (e.g., using antennas and other transceiving circuitry thatare included in or connected with the sensors), and/or may communicatedata to one or more of the controllers, which then communicate thesensor data to one or more other locations using antennas andtransceiving circuitry 118 connected with or included in thecontrollers. The controllers optionally may be referred to as gatewaysas the controllers provide access, entry, or paths for the sensor datato be communicated to and/or from the sensors.

The controllers and/or sensors may communicate the data to a controlsystem 120 of the vehicle system. The control system can issue signalsto various devices of the vehicle system to control operations of thevehicle system, such as signals that direct motors to rotate wheels ofthe vehicle system, direct brakes of the vehicle system to actuate, etc.The control system may generate the signals based on input received froman operator of the vehicle system, from data received from the sensors,or the like. The controllers and/or the control system may represent orinclude hardware circuitry that includes and/or is connected with one ormore processors (e.g., microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays,integrated circuits, or other electronic logic-based devices) thatperform various operations described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a sensor monitoring characteristics ofthe vehicle system shown in FIG. 1 and communicating data to acontroller. The sensor 114 shown in FIG. 2 may be an oil level sensorthat is connected with a wheel/axle combination 200 (“Combo” in FIG. 2)of the vehicle system 102 shown in FIG. 1. The wheel/axle combinationincludes wheels 202 connected with an axle 204, which is connected witha traction motor 208 by one or more gears inside a gear box 206. Thegear box 206 includes lubricant, such as oil, and the sensor measuresthe level or amount of the lubricant in the gear box, and optionally maymonitor the health, condition, or the like. In one embodiment, thesensor shown in FIG. 2 may be one or more of the sensors described inone or more of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/421,245; 14/866,320;or 14/869,038. Alternatively, the sensor shown in FIG. 2 may be anothertype of sensor. The sensor wirelessly communicates data representativeof the characteristics being monitored by the sensor (e.g., capacitanceof the lubricant, an amount of the lubricant, vibrations, etc.) to thecontroller 116. The controller may communicate this data to the controlsystem and/or may implement one or more responsive actions, such asnotifying an operator of the data output by the sensor.

Several sensors in the vehicle system may wirelessly communicate data tothe controllers and/or control system. The sensors may rely on batteriesor other limited energy resources for the power to measure, process,store, and/or communicate the data that is accumulated by the sensors.This energy store can be utilized with a strategy that includes a lowduty cycle for the sensor that is characterized by a dominant “sleep”mode for the processors and other electronic components in the sensors.For example, a sensor may “wake up” (e.g., turn on or activate from astate where little to no electric energy is consumed by the sensor to astate where increased electric energy is consumed to perform one or morefunctions of the sensor) on a predefined or designated schedule (e.g.,every hour or other frequency) to record information (e.g., oil level,temperature, vibration levels, etc.). The rate or frequency at whicheach sensor measures, detects, or otherwise senses one or morecharacteristics can be referred to as a sampling frequency of thesensor. The sensors may communicate data representative of the sensedcharacteristics to the controllers and/or control system at a rate orfrequency (e.g., the number of times that the communication occurs perunit time) that may be referred to as a communication rate.

In one embodiment, the sensor system may coordinate the samplingfrequencies and/or communication rates of the sensors in the vehiclesystem to reduce interference between communications from differentsensors and/or to extend the life of the power sources (e.g., batteries)of the sensors (relative to another sampling frequency and/orcommunication rate). The sensor system may use a sampling strategy thatis synchronous or near synchronous within the same vehicle, but providesfor asynchronous communication from vehicle to vehicle. This can causethe sensor communication times to be diverse between different vehiclesto avoid or decrease wireless communication traffic and interference.

For example, the sensors in the sensor system may be programmed tocommunicate data to the controllers and/or control system at times thatare dependent upon which vehicle the sensors are located on or coupledwith. The sensors onboard a first vehicle in the vehicle system maycommunicate data to the controllers and/or control system at a firsttime or set of times (such as at five minutes past the beginning ofevery hour), the sensors onboard a different, second vehicle in the samevehicle system may communicate data to the controllers and/or controlsystem at a different, second time or set of times (such as at tenminutes past the beginning of every hour), etc. Dividing up thecommunication times between the sensors based on which vehicle thesensors are on can reduce the amount of wireless communicationsoccurring at the same time, which can reduce wireless signalinterference. The sensors onboard the same vehicle may still communicatedata at the same time or during the same time period to ensure that thecontroller and/or control system that is controlling operations of thevehicle is provided with the sensor data needed or used to control theoperations of the vehicle in a timely manner.

The sensor system may coordinate the sampling frequencies and/orcommunication rates of the sensors in the vehicle system such that thesynchronous communication within the same vehicle and the asynchronouscommunication between or among vehicles occurs based on the direction ofthe control system and/or controllers, and does not merely occur bycoincidence or happenstance. For example, in one mode of operation ofthe sensor system, the sensors may communicate the sensor data atvarious times (e.g., random times, pseudo-random times, at timesrequested by operators, etc.) that may or may not result in the sensordata communicated synchronously and/or asynchronously, as describedherein. The controllers and/or control system may switch the mode ofoperation of the sensor system to only allow the sensors onboard thesame vehicle to communicate synchronously and to only allow the sensorsonboard different vehicles to communication asynchronously. This caninvolve preventing the sensors onboard different vehicles fromsynchronously communicating the data and preventing the sensors onboardthe same vehicle from asynchronously communicating the data, even if thesensors would or could otherwise communicate in this manner.

In one embodiment, the sensors are programmed with a configurable wakeupinterval that defines how often the sensors activate and measure orsense characteristics. This wakeup interval can be once per hour oranother rate. The wakeup intervals may be diverse (e.g., different) fordifferent vehicles in the same vehicle system to reduce wirelessinterference. The wakeup times for a vehicle may be based on acharacteristic of the vehicle that is different from one or more, orall, other vehicles. For example, the wakeup times may be based on theroad number, vehicle identification number, serial number, or otheridentity of the vehicle. The wakeup times can be a number of minutespast the beginning of the hour that is taken from one or more units ofthe identity of the vehicle, or may be otherwise determined based on thevehicle identity. For example, the wakeup times for sensors onboard avehicle may be a product of the last digit of the identity of thevehicle and 10% of the interval time (e.g., one hour) after thebeginning of the hour. If a vehicle has a last digit of five and theinterval time is one hour (e.g., sixty minutes), then the wakeup timesof the sensors onboard that vehicle may be the product of five and tenpercent of sixty minutes, or thirty. Therefore, the sensors onboard thatvehicle may activate, measure characteristics, and communicate dataevery thirty minutes past the beginning of the hour. The wakeup timesand intervals for sensors onboard the same vehicle may be the same sothat the measured characteristics may be synchronized. In addition tovehicles within a vehicle system, the wakeup times also can be used fordifferent types of vehicle systems, such as vehicles sitting near ornext to each other (e.g., locomotives or trains sitting next to eachother in a rail yard).

The sensors in the sensor system may need to be paired with one or moreother components of the vehicle system. The sensors may be paired (e.g.,associated with) with a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle on which the sensorsare disposed), a controller (e.g., on the same vehicle as the sensors),and/or the control system of the vehicle system. While the descriptionherein focuses on pairing sensors with the controllers (also referred toas gateways), the described embodiments may be used to pair the sensorswith vehicles, control systems, etc.

The pairing of a sensor to a controller can provide the controller withthe functional location of the sensor to allow for useful, actionableprognostic information to be provided from the sensor to the controller.The functional location of a sensor may be the location from which thedata provided by the sensor represents characteristics of the vehicle,vehicle system, or environment. For example, a sensor that measuresvibrations of a wheel may have a functional location that is the same asthe wheel (even if the sensor is disposed elsewhere, such as on thewheel/axle combination but not directly on the wheel).

The pairing can be performed by manually inputting the locations (e.g.,actual positions on the vehicles and/or functional locations) of thesensors into the controllers and/or control system, such as by enteringthe location along with the serial number (or other identifyinginformation) for each sensor. But, for sensor systems having a largenumber of sensors, this process can be time-consuming. In one embodimentof the inventive subject matter described herein, the sensors can beautomatically paired with the controllers and/or control system. Theautomatic pairing can occur without an operator inputting locations oridentities of the sensors into the controllers and/or control system,and/or may occur without the sensors communicating identifyinginformation or the locations of the sensors to the controllers and/orcontrol system.

One or more of the controllers and/or the control system may changeoperation of one or more components of the vehicle system. One or moresensors functionally located at the one or more components having thechanged operation may output data to the controllers and/or controlsystem. This data can be used to identify which sensor or sensors arefunctionally located at the one or more components. The controllersand/or control system can determine which components are to have thechanged operation based on the wakeup intervals or times of thedifferent sensors.

FIG. 3 illustrates one vehicle 104 of the vehicle system 102 shown inFIG. 1 according to one example. While the vehicle 104 is shown in FIG.1, alternatively, another vehicle in the vehicle system may be used. Thevehicle 104 includes the control system 120, the controller 116, andseveral sensors 114 operably coupled with (e.g., disposed in a locationwhere the sensors can monitor characteristics of) components 300 of thevehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, the components 300 can representtraction motors, wheel/axle combinations, or other components thatoperate to rotate wheels 302 of the vehicle. The sensors are describedas being vibration sensors (e.g., accelerometers), but optionally may beone or more other types of sensors.

The wakeup times or intervals of the sensors onboard the vehicle may beprovided to the controller, such as from an operator, from the identityof the vehicle (as described above), by being communicated from thesensors, or otherwise. The control system may direct the torquesgenerated by the traction motors to rotate the axles and wheels of thevehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, each axle and wheel combinationis connected with a different traction motor. Consequently, the controlsystem may individually control the torques generated by the differentmotors directing the different motors to generate different torques atthe same time. The control system can direct the torques generated bythe traction motors by changing frequencies of electric current suppliedto the traction motors.

Because the times at which the sensors measure the characteristics ofthe vehicle may be known to the control system, the control system canprepare for the sensor wakeups by applying unique motor torque profilesto the axles connected with the motors. The control system may directone or more of the traction motors to apply a low frequency torqueoscillation to each axle before, during, and/or after the times at whichthe sensors measure characteristics (e.g., vibrations) of the wheelsand/or traction motors, and/or components connected to the wheels and/ormotors. The low frequency torque oscillation may be different fordifferent wheel/axle combinations. For example, the control system maydirect the traction motors to apply an additional 100 ft lbs of torque(in addition to the torques already being generated by the tractionmotors) at different frequencies. The amount of torque that is added maybe small relative to the torque already being applied by the tractionmotors (e.g., the additional torque may be no greater than 10%, 5%, 3%,1%, or the like, of the currently generated torque) so that the totaltorque and/or speed of the vehicle is not significantly impacted. Afirst traction motor can apply the additional torque at a firstfrequency (e.g., at 1 Hz or another frequency), a second traction motorcan apply the additional torque at a different, second frequency (e.g.,at 2 Hz or another frequency), a third traction motor can apply theadditional torque at a different, third frequency (e.g., at 4 Hz oranother frequency), a fourth traction motor can apply the additionaltorque at a different, fourth frequency (e.g., at 8 Hz or anotherfrequency), a fifth traction motor can apply the additional torque at adifferent, fifth frequency (e.g., at 16 Hz or another frequency), and asixth traction motor can apply the additional torque at a different,sixth frequency (e.g., at 32 Hz or another frequency).

The sensors measure and communicate the vibrations of the wheel, axle,and/or traction motor. These vibrations may include the additionaltorque applied at the different frequencies. For example, increasedvibrations may be detected at the first frequency by a first sensor thatis functionally located at the first traction motor, increasedvibrations may be detected at the second frequency by a second sensorthat is functionally located at the second traction motor, and so on.The additional torque may appear as a peak, spike, or other increase inthe vibrations measured by the sensors at the corresponding frequencies.Because the sensors are functionally located at different tractionmotors, the increased vibrations detected by one sensor at a frequencydesignated or selected by the control system will not be detected by theother sensors. As a result, the control system can determine where eachsensor is functionally located based on the data communicated from thesensor.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of one embodiment of a method 400 forestablishing communication intervals for sensors in a sensing system.The method 400 may be used to establish times at which sensors on asystem, such as the vehicle system shown in FIG. 1, communicate data inorder to reduce or eliminate interference between the sensors. At 402,sensors are positioned on a system, such as a vehicle system. In oneembodiment, the sensors may be positioned on different vehicles of thevehicle system. At 404, different wakeup intervals are determined forthe sensors onboard the different vehicles. For example, the sensorsdisposed onboard the same vehicle may be programmed or otherwisedirected to activate, sense characteristics of the vehicle and/orenvironment, and communicate data representative of the sensedcharacteristics at the same time that periodically repeats. But, sensorsdisposed onboard other vehicles may be programmed or directed withdifferent wakeup intervals. As a result, the sensors onboard the samevehicle synchronously communicate data with respect to each other, butasynchronously communicate data with respect to the sensors onboardother vehicles.

At 406, the sensors onboard the same vehicle are restricted tocommunicating data at the same time. For example, the sensors onboardthe same vehicle may be programmed or directed to periodicallycommunicate sensed data at a time or during a time period that is thesame for the sensors onboard the same vehicle. At 408, the sensorsdisposed onboard different vehicles may be restricted to communicatedata at different times. For example, the sensors onboard one vehicleare programmed or directed to communicate sensed data at a time orduring a time period that is different from the time or time period ofthe sensors onboard other vehicles. This can prevent the sensors onboarddifferent vehicles from communicating data at the same time.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of one embodiment of a method 500 forpairing sensors with components of a powered system, such as a vehiclesystem. The method 500 may be used to determine where sensors arelocated and/or where the characteristics monitored by the differentsensors are located so that additional data provided by the sensors canbe associated with the correct components. At 502, components of thepowered system are commanded to change operations in different ways.With respect to a vehicle system, different traction motors may bedirected to apply an additional amount of torque at different designatedfrequencies. At 504, data sensed by different sensors are examined. Forexample, the vibrations detected by the sensors may be transformed fromthe time domain to the frequency domain, and the vibrations may beexamined to determine where the frequencies where the vibrations aremore prevalent.

At 506, a determination is made as to whether the data from a sensorrepresents the changed operation of a component. For example, the datafrom a sensor may be examined to determine if the data includesincreased vibrations at any of the frequencies at which the additionaltorque was applied to the different motors. If the data representsincreased vibrations at a frequency where additional torque was appliedfor a motor, then the sensor may be located on or near that motor. As aresult, flow of the method 500 can proceed toward 508. If the data doesnot represent increased vibrations at a frequency where additionaltorque was applied for a motor, then the sensor may not be located on ornear that motor. As a result, flow of the method 500 can return toward504. The data from one or more other sensors can then be compared to thefrequencies at which the torque was added for different motors.

At 508, the sensor is associated with the motor. For example, the sensorproviding data having increased vibrations at the frequency where themotor increased torque is paired with that motor. The sensor is pairedwith the motor so that additional data provided by the sensor is knownto represent operations of that motor.

In one embodiment, a method includes sensing one or more characteristicsof vehicles in a vehicle system with sensors disposed onboard thevehicles and communicating data representative of the one or morecharacteristics from the sensors to one or more of a controller or acontrol system of the vehicle system. The data communicated from thesensors onboard the same vehicle can be synchronously communicated withrespect to the sensors onboard the same vehicle and asynchronouslycommunicated with respect to the sensors disposed onboard one or moreother vehicles in the vehicle system.

Optionally, the data is synchronously communicated by the sensorsdisposed onboard the same vehicle wirelessly communicating the data atone or more of the same time or during the same time period.

Optionally, the data is synchronously communicated from the sensors atthe same time or times.

Optionally, the data is asynchronously communicated by the sensorsdisposed onboard the same vehicle wirelessly communicating the data atone or more of the same time or during the same time period that differsfrom one or more of a time or time period that the sensors disposedonboard the one or more other vehicles communicate the data.

Optionally, the data that is communicated represents one or more oftemperatures of the vehicles or environment, movement in one or moredirections, pressure, a fluid level, geographic or other locations,speed, sounds, images, or videos.

Optionally, the method also can include changing operations of differentcomponents of one or more of the vehicles and pairing the sensors withthe different components of the one or more of the vehicles based onwhether the data that is communicated from the sensors represents theoperations that are changed.

Optionally, changing operations of the different components includesdirecting traction motors disposed onboard the same vehicle to generateadditional torques at different designated frequencies. The frequency atwhich the additional torque is generated can differ for each of thedifferent traction motors.

Optionally, pairing the sensors includes determining whether the dataprovided by one or more of the sensors represents the additional torqueat the frequency designated for a first motor of the traction motors,and associating the sensor with the first motor.

In one embodiment, a system includes sensors configured to be disposedonboard vehicles in a vehicle system and to sense one or morecharacteristics of the vehicles and one or more of a controller or acontrol system configured to receive data representative of the one ormore characteristics from the sensors. The data communicated from thesensors onboard the same vehicle is synchronously communicated withrespect to the sensors onboard the same vehicle and asynchronouslycommunicated with respect to the sensors disposed onboard one or moreother vehicles in the vehicle system.

Optionally, the sensors are configured to synchronously communicate thedata by the sensors disposed onboard the same vehicle wirelesslycommunicating the data at one or more of the same time or during thesame time period.

Optionally, the sensors are configured to synchronously send the data tothe one or more of the controller or the control system at the sametimes.

Optionally, the sensors are configured to asynchronously communicate thedata by the sensors disposed onboard the same vehicle wirelesslycommunicating the data at one or more of the same time or during thesame time period that differs from one or more of a time or time periodthat the sensors disposed onboard the one or more other vehiclescommunicate the data.

Optionally, the data that is communicated represents one or more oftemperatures of the vehicles or environment, movement in one or moredirections, pressure, a fluid level, geographic or other locations,speed, sounds, images, or videos.

Optionally, the sensors include one or more of a temperature sensor, avibration sensor, a pressure sensor, a fluid sensor, a location sensor,a speed sensor, an acoustic sensor, an optic sensor, or anelectromagnetic sensor.

Optionally, one or more of the controller or the control system isconfigured to change operations of different components of one or moreof the vehicles. The one or more of the controller or the control systemis configured to pair the sensors with the different components of theone or more of the vehicles based on whether the data that iscommunicated from the sensors represents the operations that arechanged.

Optionally, one or more of the controller or the control system isconfigured to change the operations of the different components bydirecting traction motors disposed onboard the same vehicle to generateadditional torque at different designated frequencies. The frequency atwhich the additional torque is generated can differ for each of thedifferent traction motors.

Optionally, the one or more of the controller or the control system isconfigured to pair the sensors by determining whether the data providedby one or more of the sensors represents the additional torque at thefrequency designated for a first motor of the traction motors, andassociating the sensor with the first motor.

In one embodiment, a method directing components disposed onboard avehicle system to change operations, monitoring data output by sensorsoperatively connected with the components, and determining which of thesensors are operatively connected with which of the components based onthe operations of the components that are changed and the data that isoutput by the sensors.

Optionally, directing the components to change the operations includesdirecting traction motors disposed onboard the vehicle system togenerate additional torque at different designated frequencies.

Optionally, determining which of the sensors are operatively connectedwith which of the components includes determining which of the sensorsprovide the data representing the additional torque at the designatedfrequencies of the traction motors, and pairing the sensors with thetraction motors based on the data and the designated frequencies.

Optionally, the method also includes directing the sensors disposedonboard a first vehicle of the vehicle system to synchronouslycommunicate the data with the sensors onboard the first vehicle and toasynchronously communicate the data relative to the sensors onboard oneor more other vehicles of the vehicle system.

In one embodiment, a system includes a control system configured todirect components disposed onboard a vehicle system to changeoperations, the control system also configured to monitor data output bysensors operatively connected with the components. The control system isconfigured to determine which of the sensors are operatively connectedwith which of the components based on the operations of the componentsthat are changed and the data that is output by the sensors.

Optionally, the control system is configured to direct the components tochange the operations by directing traction motors disposed onboard thevehicle system to generate additional torque at different designatedfrequencies.

Optionally, the control system is configured to determine which of thesensors are operatively connected with which of the components includesdetermining which of the sensors provide the data representing theadditional torque at the designated frequencies of the traction motors,and the control system is configured to pair the sensors with thetraction motors based on the data and the designated frequencies.

Optionally, the control system is configured to direct the sensorsdisposed onboard a first vehicle of the vehicle system to synchronouslycommunicate the data with the sensors onboard the first vehicle and toasynchronously communicate the data relative to the sensors onboard oneor more other vehicles of the vehicle system.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-describedembodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination witheach other. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the inventivesubject matter without departing from its scope. While the dimensionsand types of materials described herein are intended to define theparameters of the inventive subject matter, they are by no meanslimiting and are exemplary embodiments. Many other embodiments will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription. The scope of the inventive subject matter should,therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, alongwith the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Inthe appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used asthe plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and“wherein.” Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,”“second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are notintended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, thelimitations of the following claims are not written inmeans-plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted basedon 35 U.S.C. §112(f), unless and until such claim limitations expresslyuse the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void offurther structure.

This written description uses examples to disclose several embodimentsof the inventive subject matter and also to enable any person ofordinary skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the inventivesubject matter, including making and using any devices or systems andperforming any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of theinventive subject matter is defined by the claims, and may include otherexamples that occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Such otherexamples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they havestructural elements that do not differ from the literal language of theclaims, or if they include equivalent structural elements withinsubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

The foregoing description of certain embodiments of the inventivesubject matter will be better understood when read in conjunction withthe appended drawings. To the extent that the figures illustratediagrams of the functional blocks of various embodiments, the functionalblocks are not necessarily indicative of the division between hardwarecircuitry. Thus, for example, one or more of the functional blocks (forexample, processors or memories) may be implemented in a single piece ofhardware (for example, a general purpose signal processor,microcontroller, random access memory, hard disk, and the like).Similarly, the programs may be stand-alone programs, may be incorporatedas subroutines in an operating system, may be functions in an installedsoftware package, and the like. The various embodiments are not limitedto the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceededwith the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding pluralof said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated.Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the inventive subjectmatter are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence ofadditional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments“comprising,” “including,” or “having” an element or a plurality ofelements having a particular property may include additional suchelements not having that property.

Since certain changes may be made in the above-described systems andmethods for communicating data in a vehicle consist, without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the inventive subject matter hereininvolved, it is intended that all of the subject matter of the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedmerely as examples illustrating the inventive concept herein and shallnot be construed as limiting the inventive subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: sensors configured to bedisposed onboard vehicles in a vehicle system and to sense one or morecharacteristics of the vehicles; and one or more of a controller or acontrol system configured to receive data representative of the one ormore characteristics from the sensors, wherein the sensors areconfigured to synchronously communicate the data from the sensorsdisposed onboard the same vehicle with respect to the sensors disposedonboard the same vehicle, and wherein the sensors are configured toasynchronously communicate the data from the sensors disposed onboarddifferent vehicles of the vehicles in the vehicle system.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the sensors are configured to synchronouslycommunicate the data by the sensors disposed onboard the same vehicle bywirelessly communicating the data at one or more of a common time orduring a common time period.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thesensors are configured to asynchronously communicate the data by thesensors disposed onboard the different vehicles communicating the dataat one or more of a different time or during a different time periodthan the sensors that synchronously communicate the data.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the data that is communicated represents one or moreof temperatures of the vehicles or environment, movement in one or moredirections, pressure, a fluid level, geographic or other locations,speed, sounds, images, or videos.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thesensors include one or more of a temperature sensor, a vibration sensor,a pressure sensor, a fluid sensor, a location sensor, a speed sensor, anacoustic sensor, an optic sensor, or an electromagnetic sensor.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the one or more of the controller or thecontrol system is configured to change operations of differentcomponents of one or more of the vehicles, and the one or more of thecontroller or the control system is configured to logically pair thesensors with the different components of the one or more of the vehiclesbased on whether the data that is communicated from the sensorsrepresents the operations that are changed.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the one or more of the controller or the control system isconfigured to change the operations of the different components bydirecting traction motors disposed onboard the same vehicle to generateadditional torque at different designated frequencies, wherein thefrequency at which the additional torque is generated differs for eachof the different traction motors.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein theone or more of the controller or the control system is configured tologically pair the sensors by determining whether the data provided byone or more of the sensors represents the additional torque at thefrequency designated for a first motor of the traction motors, andassociating the sensor with the first motor.
 9. A method comprising:sensing one or more characteristics of vehicles in a vehicle system withsensors disposed onboard the vehicles; synchronously communicating datarepresentative of the one or more characteristics from the sensors toone or more of a controller or a control system of the vehicle system,the data synchronously communicated by two or more of the sensorsdisposed onboard a common vehicle of the vehicles in the vehicle system;and asynchronously communicating the data representative of the one ormore characteristics from the sensors to the one or more of thecontroller or the control system of the vehicle system, the dataasynchronously communicated by two or more of the sensors disposedonboard different vehicles of the vehicle system.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the data is synchronously communicated by the sensorsdisposed onboard the same vehicle wirelessly communicating the data atone or more of a common time or during a common time period.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the data is asynchronously communicated bythe sensors disposed onboard a first vehicle communicating the data atone or more of a different time or during a different time period thanthe sensors disposed onboard a second vehicle.
 12. The method of claim9, wherein the data that is communicated represents one or more oftemperatures of the vehicles or environment, movement in one or moredirections, pressure, a fluid level, geographic or other locations,speed, sounds, images, or videos.
 13. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: changing operations of different components of one or moreof the vehicles; and pairing the sensors with the different componentsof the one or more of the vehicles based on whether the data that iscommunicated from the sensors represents the operations that arechanged.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein changing the operations ofthe different components includes directing traction motors disposedonboard the same vehicle to generate additional torques at differentdesignated frequencies, wherein the frequency at which the additionaltorque is generated differs for each of the different traction motors.15. The method of claim 14, wherein pairing the sensors includesdetermining whether the data provided by one or more of the sensorsrepresents the additional torque at the frequency designated for a firstmotor of the traction motors, and associating the sensor with the firstmotor.
 16. A system comprising: sensors disposed onboard vehicles of avehicle system, the sensors configured to measure operations of thevehicle system and to output data representative of the operations thatare measured, wherein the sensors disposed onboard a common vehicle ofthe vehicles are configured to synchronously communicate the data duringa common time period that differs from a different time period duringwhich the sensors disposed onboard a different vehicle of the vehiclescommunicate the data; and a control system configured to directcomponents disposed onboard the vehicle system to change the operationsand to monitor the data that is output by the sensors, wherein thecontrol system is configured to determine which of the sensors areoperatively connected with which of the components based on theoperations of the components that are changed and the data that isoutput by the sensors.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the sensorsdisposed onboard different vehicles of the vehicle system asynchronouslycommunicate the data during different time periods.
 18. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the control system is configured to direct thecomponents to change the operations by directing traction motorsdisposed onboard the vehicle system to generate additional torque atdifferent designated frequencies.
 19. The system of claim 18, whereinthe control system is configured to determine which of the sensors areoperatively connected with which of the components includes determiningwhich of the sensors provide the data representing the additional torqueat the designated frequencies of the traction motors, and the controlsystem is configured to logically pair the sensors with the tractionmotors based on the data and the designated frequencies.
 20. The systemof claim 16, wherein the control system is configured to direct thesensors disposed onboard a first vehicle of the vehicle system tosynchronously communicate the data with the sensors onboard the firstvehicle and to asynchronously communicate the data relative to thesensors onboard one or more other vehicles of the vehicle system.